A Daughter's Strength
by Matatabi-chan
Summary: 5th in the Strength Series. Beckett's a strong friend, cop and all around person but how strong can she be when things hit closer to her heart than before. After finding out her father is hurt in the hospital she rushes to him with Castle at her side. Can castle help her through yet another rough patch? Before 'Always' episode.
1. Chapter 1

I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH THE ORIGONAL IDEA OF CASTLE!

Chapter 1

Beckett gave a small smile as Castle set her coffee directly in front of her before he took his seat beside her desk. "Good morning, Detective." He smiled making her shake her head.

"We don't have a case." She told him and watched him shrug. She looked at him a minute. "You're hiding."

"I am not." He said taking a drink of his coffee.

"Your mother still working on her fundraiser?" Castle nodded making Beckett smirk. "How's Alexis?" Castle looked at her and shrugged. "Still having nightmares?"

"Yeah, had another one last night. Was pretty bad, she woke up screaming, our one neighbor came over to make sure everything was okay." Beckett felt sorry for the girl. Ever since she had been kidnapped three weeks ago, she had been having nightmares every night. Sometimes several times a night. Castle was beginning to look worn from the lack of sleep and she could only imagine how Alexis was fairing. "She won't talk about them. She won't go see anyone." He sighed and looked at her. "I don't know what to do."

"Do you want me to try to talk to her? I mean what she went through is hard on anyone, even someone as smart and strong as her." He looked at her as he heard a tone in her voice telling him she knew first hand. He had known she had a very hard time after she was shot but he never wanted to pry so he didn't really know how bad she had gotten.

"If you want. I'm open for anything." He said looking away. His eyes snapped to hers and a smile tugged at his lips. "Maybe you should spend a few nights. My bed is plenty big enough."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head as her phone rang. "You keep on dreaming there, Castle." He grinned as she answered. "Beckett…. Yes, this is she…." Suddenly the phone fell from her hand and hit the desk making Castle jump and look at her.

"Beckett?" He asked but she was staring at her desk not responding. He reached over he took the phone seeing the call was still connected he put the phone to his ear.

"Ms. Beckett?" He head a female voice say.

"This is her partner, Richard Castle." He responded. "I'm sorry she can't continue this call."

"Are you able to take some information?"

"Yeah." He said and furrowed his brow, never taking his eyes from Beckett.

"We have Mr. Beckett here in Bellevue. He was in a car accident and his family really should get here as soon as they can. I am sorry I cannot release much else but it is important that she get here immediately."

"Is he okay? I mean is there anything else you can tell me?" He asked still watching Beckett.

"I am sorry but we can only tell the family to come in over the phone."

"Yeah, thanks." He hung up and put her phone on the desk. Looking at her, a minute longer he saw her fighting back tears. "Come on." She looked at him. "Let's go, grab your stuff."

"Castle-" She began.

"Don't argue with me, get your stuff. I'll be right back and we can leave." She watched him stand up and walk over to Gates' office where she was talking with Esposito and Ryan about a case they had just solved. She wanted to stop him to tell him she could take care of things on her own but her voice would not work, her body would not move. All she could do was sit and think about the phone call. All she heard was her father was in the hospital after a car accident and she felt her heart drop.

"Castle!" Gates yelled but he ignored her and continued in with a serious look on his face.

"Beckett needs a few days off." He said making the three look at him.

"What?" Gates asked. "You cannot walk into my office and-"

Castle cut her off as Ryan and Esposito stood up. "Her dad was in an accident. The hospital called and told her she needs to get there now." He explained. He glanced at the two men who were looking more and more worried about Beckett.

"Go." Gates said. He may have grown on her but there was no way she would allow him to act like one of her detectives and she sure as hell wasn't going to let him just waltz into her office without permission. However, she knew this was not the time to reprimand him or even kick him out of the precinct. He nodded and turned with the two men behind him.

"Let us know what is going on." Ryan said making Castle nod as they stopped outside of Gates office to talk quickly.

"Take care of her Bro." Esposito told him.

"I'll call you as soon as we know anything." He reassured them before he walked back over to find Beckett hadn't moved from her chair. "Kate?" He asked softly before he bent a bit to look at her. "Come on, I'll drive." She only nodded and let him lead her towards the elevators, handing him the keys to her cruiser. Ryan and Esposito looked at each other worried. For Beckett to hand over her keys willingly to Castle, meant there was something much worse going on than they thought.

Beckett sat in the passenger seat with things flying through her head. She could not lose her dad; he was the only one left. She did not need Castle with her, and she definitely did not need him to drive. What was wrong with her? She just handed the keys over and allowed him to steer her to the car and take over everything. She damn well knew she could take care of herself but she just could not speak up or fight for dominance right now. She stared out the window silently as she fought back the tears once again at the thought of losing her dad.

Castle pulled the car into a parking spot and they got out moving quickly through the ER to the information desk. "I got a call that my father is here. His name is James Beckett." She told the woman. She nodded and started typing on her computer. It only took a minute but it felt like an hour to Beckett when the results came up.

"It says the doctor is with him right now. Just have a seat and the doctor will be out." The nurse said and Beckett tensed, shaking her head.

"No, I need to see him." She told her.

"I'm sorry ma'me, please have a seat." Castle watched as Beckett shifted her stance. "The doctor will be out to talk to you when he's finished."

"I get a call that he was in an accident and I have to get here immediately then you tell me to sit and wait? I am not going to just sit back until you are good and ready to tell me something. I want to see him; I want to see my father." She said as she dropped her voice to the one she used while interrogating suspects.

"Those are the rules and there's nothing that can change that. So please step to the side and wait." Beckett wanted to jump the counter and scream at the woman. This was her father they were talking about, not just some random person. She opened her mouth to begin telling this nurse what she thought of the rules when she felt Castle put his hand on her arm, making her look at him.

Castle looked at the nurse and gave a small smile. "Could you check and see how long the doctor will be?" Beckett looked at him about to snap when she saw the nurse roll her eyes.

"He'll be out when he's out. I don't know what to tell you." She said, sounding like she was losing her patience for them. Beckett's eyes snapped to the nurse only to have Castle lean a little farther closer.

"How about you tell us you will check, and then you go and actually check and tell us. Unless you want to have this hospital sued for about a dozen things."

"For what? We haven't done anything." She told him as she leaned forward.

"I can have a team of lawyers come up with more than a dozen things you and the hospital have done wrong, you see it's a benefit of being a rich author. Besides, it's not really me you should worry about."

"Oh really Mr. famous author?" She asked sarcastically.

"Yes you see if you don't get us the information we want I'm going to have to make a call that will have you out on the curb by the time I'm done my conversation, besides, Jim's daughter, here, she's a cop." The nurse looked at them un-amused.

"Castle." Beckett said. He looked at her and saw the worry clear on her face. He pulled his phone out and started to dial as she walked away with tears coming to her eyes.

"Hey Bobby." He said looking at the nurse who only rolled her eyes. "Listen I need a favor…. No, I'm at Bellevue-…no, I'm fine, it's Beckett's dad. Beckett wants to see him and this nurse wont-" He paused listening. "Thanks." He hung up and walked over to Beckett who was standing to the side with her arms wrapped around herself. Without a word, he reached out and pulled her to him. Her arms slowly slipped around his middle and she felt the tears slide down her cheeks as she began to cry. She was mentally kicking herself for allowing herself to cry in public, to cry in front of Castle, but she could not seem to stop as she felt him hold her tight.

After a minute, she pulled herself together and pulled out of his arms. "I just want to see him. "

"I know I'm sure he's fine. They probably want to get everything they can before they talk to you, so there's no question they can't answer." He told her.

"You called the mayor again didn't you?" She asked making him smirk. She shook her head and felt a smile tugging at her lips. "You can't solve everything by phone calls to the mayor. He has other things to do than to do things for you and get you out of trouble."

"Yeah, well it was neither this time." He told her with a grin. "He was helping you." She shook her head and looked at the nurse sitting behind the desk triumphantly. "Bob will take care of things."

"Castle you can't get people fired for doing their job." She was trying to keep a level head and think about other things rather than what was going on with her father.

"First of all I'm not going to get anyone fired, and secondly, you want to see your dad and she said no." He looked at her, locking eyes. "I don't like hearing no." She shook her head and leaned back against the wall. They looked over as a tall man rushed from the back doors to the front desk. He looked very upset with the nurse. Not even five minutes later, another man walked out with thick glasses and a long white coat. Talks to the nurse before talking to the nurse who points at Castle and Beckett. Castle gave her a little smile as the doctor walked over.

"Ms. Beckett, I'm Dr. Perly." He extended his hand and shook hers. "As I understand it you are the only family?" Beckett nodded, not wanting to think about that fact. "I would like to speak with you alone about your father's condition." He glanced at Castle making Beckett look at him then back at the doctor.

"He can come." She said softly making the doctor look at her. "He promises not to call the Mayor again." She looked at Castle who shrugged.

"As long as they do what you want, I will only call Bob to give him an update." He told her making her nod and look back at the unhappy doctor before he led them through the doors and to a little meeting room to speak. There were only two chairs so Castle stood to the side leaning against the wall watching and listening as Beckett and the Doctor sat across a table with a file between them.

"I have a few forms for you to fill out first." He said, opening the file and pulling out several papers. "Do you know of any will or living will your father may have?"

"No." She shook her head.

"As his only living relative you will be power of attorney if he cannot make his own decisions on his medical care. These forms state that if the need arises you will be the one calling the shot." He slid the papers across the table making Castle push off the wall and walk over behind Beckett to look at the papers. This earned him an unhappy look from the doctor. Beckett scanned the papers and signed where needed.

"Okay." She said sliding them back.

"We need your contact information as well. Your home number, cell phone if you have one and work place." She began listing everything. "If you have a second person to call in order to get a hold of you, indicate them and list their numbers as well." Beckett looked up at Castle, not wanting to ask him to do such a thing, it was her family after all and she would always be able to be reached. But in case something was going on… she didn't need to wonder long, Castle bent taking the pen from her hand and he started writing his name and numbers on the paper.

"Castle…" She said softly making him look at her and smirk.

"If your phone goes out I'm either with you on a case, at the precinct or I can get a hold of you easily." He explained making the doctor look between the two.

"Case? Precinct?" He asked curious.

"I'm a detective with the 12th precinct." Beckett told him making him look at her a moment longer before looking at Castle. "He consults on cases." He pulled the paper back and looked at the name before looking at Castle.

"Richard Castle? The author?" Castle nodded making the doctor nod and begin to hurry through his papers. "Okay, well these will be for his admission to the hospital and the additional care we will be giving him here." Beckett signed the papers.

"How is he?" She asked worried.

"He is unconscious at the moment. A drunk driver in a shopping center parking lot hit him. The car took most of the damage but he does have several broken ribs, a fractured femur, internal bleeding that we were able to stop with minor surgery, and there are small fractures to his skull. The impact of the car hitting jostled him around a bit, which caused slight cerebral edema. The nurses are getting him moved to his room now and they will take you up as soon as he's there." He shook their hands and left without another word.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Castle looked at Beckett who was sitting completely still in her seat, biting her lip with a look he knew all too well. She got the look when she was formulating theories on a case. He moved closer and sat in the seat the doctor was just in. "You okay?" She looked at him with watery eyes and he felt his chest constrict.

"I'm fine. You don't have to stay. You can go home. I don't need a baby sitter." She told him, feeling frustrated that she was still letting him take over.

"I know you don't need a baby sitter. I'm not here for that, I'm here if you need me or you need me to do something." He shook his head.

She gave him a stern look. "Castle, this isn't your family. I don't need you to be here. Just go back to the precinct and see if the boys got a case yet." He looked at her stubbornly but saw the frustration growing in her eyes as a nurse walked into the room.

"I can take you to see him." She said making Beckett jump to her feet.

"Castle." She said turning to face him.

"I'll walk to the room and then I'll leave." She looked at him a moment longer before following the nurse with Castle behind her. They reached the room and Beckett paused at the doorway looking at her father lying in the bed covered with bandages, wires and tubes. Another minute passed before she slowly walked to the side of the bed. She reached down, grabbing his hand and holding it in her own. Castle still stood at the door watching before he walked in to Beckett who had tears falling down her cheeks again.

"Go home Castle." She said sternly without moving or looking at him. She knew if she looked at him, she would lose her control and ask him to stay by her side. She needed to be herself; she had a need to keep being the strong detective. He took another few steps to stand in front of her, reaching out he wiped away a tear.

"Call me if you need anything." She nodded. "I mean it Kate. I don't care if it's an emergency or if you just want to talk. And I don't care what time it is. You call me." He told her in a tone she had only heard him use on Alexis. She did not risk looking at him; she could not look away from the bruised face of her father. "Kate?" He asked

"I heard you Rick." She told him, still not looking at him. He paused. He really did not want to leave her alone but if he stayed, she would only become more upset and angry. He knew she wanted space; she needed to be on her own, to feel like she was the strong, no-nonsense detective again. He nodded and left the room making sure to stop at the nurses' station on the way out.

"Can I help you?" Asked a nurse.

"Yes, can I leave my number in case there is an emergency or if I'm needed?" He asked. "My partner's father is in room 1047 and she has the need to be stubborn and strong. If anything goes on, could you please call me?"

"Partner?" She asked making Castle nod.

"She's Detective Kate Beckett." The nurse looked at him as her mouth dropped.

"Then you're…. you're Richard Castle?" She asked with a smile making him smirk and nod.

"So I can leave my number in case she needs anything?" He asked again

"Yeah, of course. Here." She handed him a paper and a pen not noticing Beckett peeking through the window at him talking with the nurse. She saw the woman give the admiration smile that she had seen so many times by the fans of Richard Castle. She saw her hand him a pen, paper, and assumed he was giving her an autograph before she turned back to her father and sat on the side of the bed.

"Dad, I don't know if you can hear me but please wake up." She said softly before walking over, dragging a chair over and sitting in it beside the bed.

Castle pulled his phone from his pocket and called home as he stopped in the lobby. "Hello?" Alexis answered

"Hey sweetie. It's me." He smiled.

"Hey dad? Where are you?"

"I'm with Beckett; her dad was in an accident and is in the hospital."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know. He's pretty banged up and is still unconscious. I'm going to stay at the hospital with Beckett for now. Okay?"

"Yeah, Beckett's really close with her dad. I can't imagine what she must be going through, I mean I can't imagine anything happening to you..." She trailed off.

"I'm not going anywhere for a very long time. You're stuck with me until I'm old and gray and have to move in with you when someone steals all my money. You don't have to worry, pumpkin." He smiled hearing her voice.

"Gee, thanks for making my future so bright dad."

"Not a problem." He chuckled. "Tell gram for me okay?"

"Okay. Bye dad, I love you."

"I love you too sweetie." He hung up and then immediately dialed Ryan and Esposito.

Ryan's desk phone rang twice before he picked up. "Detective Ryan." He answered.

"It's me." Was all Castle said before Ryan turned and waved Esposito over, telling him Castle was on line two he picked up the line too. "Beckett's in with her dad."

"How is he?" Ryan asked.

"Well from what I understood it wasn't all that great but he's still breathing. The doctor ran down a list of stuff." He explained.

"What did he say? I'll ask Lanie." Esposito said.

"He said broken ribs, fractured femur, internal bleeding, and cerebral edema." He gave the quick list.

"So you just stepping out to give the update?"

"Not exactly. Beckett kicked me out. She told me to go home, but she looked bad. I left my number with the nurses on the floor incase anything happened and told Beckett to call me-"

"But she won't." Ryan interrupted.

"That's why I gave it to the nurses and I'll probably just crash in the lobby or something until she can sort things out." Castle continued. "I'll call you if anything changes but so far he's in pretty bad shape because of a drunk driver who was speeding through a parking lot."

"Alright, take care of our girl." Esposito said.

"No worries." The boys heard a hint of a grin in his voice as he answered. "Bye." The three hung up and Castle turned to sit in a chair to wait until Beckett needed him or wanted to talk to him.

His phone ringing the death march woke him up hours later. He looked around to see the lobby was empty and it was completely black outside. He looked at the time and saw it was one in the morning before he answered.

"Castle." He said as cheerfully as he could.

"Hey, Castle." She said making him sit up in the chair and rub his eyes. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"Don't worry about it. Is everything okay?" He asked hearing the tears in her voice.

"Yeah, I just… you said I could call."

"Yeah, yeah, of course." He listened to her sigh.

"I know it's silly but I've been thinking. I shouldn't have snapped at you the way I did, and told you to go home. You were only trying to help and be there for me."

"It's fine. A lot has gone on and you're worried and scared." There was silence for a minute.

"I'm worried about my dad." She answered. "It's just that my dad is all I have..." She said softly. Castle sat forward a bit as he listened. "I'm sorry I sent you home."

"Hey, if you want I can be beside you in about a minute and a half."

"Castle there's no way you can get from your loft to the hospital in anything less than ten minutes and that's with speeding."

"Want to bet?" He asked with a smile.

"You never left did you?" She asked knowing him. He could hear the little happy note of a smile in her voice now.

"Of course not. You really think I would have left you alone here like that? I'll be up in a minute." They hung up and he started his way down the hall, up the elevator and to the room.

He knocked gently and saw Beckett to the side in a pull out bed. She jumped up and sat on the edge as he walked over to her. "I'm sorry." She told him again. "You should be home with Alexis and Martha. Be sleeping in your bed. Not up at all hours of the night in a hospital."

"It's not your fault. Besides, I wouldn't leave your side ever if you let me hang around longer." He smirked making her smile and shake her head. "You get any sleep?" He asked and saw her shake her head looking at her father.

"You?" She looked at him as he shrugged.

"Those lobby chairs are not very comfortable but I managed." He shifted and scooted up to the top of the make shift bed that was pulled out from a chair.

"What are you doing?" Beckett asked.

"We both need sleep. Come here." She looked at him a minute. His arms stretched out towards her, he was shifted to the side to let her lay back and against him. Sighing, she knew he was right and moved closer. Slowly she sank back with her head on his chest, his left arm draped across the chair behind her head. "Try to get some sleep."

"You know, you really don't have to stay. I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself."

"It's not a matter of if you can take care of yourself or not. It's a matter of this is a tough situation and it's good to have friends around just in case you want or need anything." He paused for a minute making her shift her head to look up at him. "Besides I am beyond exhausted." She smiled at him before they settled into their spots more, quickly drifting off to sleep.

Castle opened his eyes as the lights were switched higher in the hallways. The day crew was coming back on duty. He looked down at Beckett still laying, snuggled against his side sound asleep. He smiled and decided not to wake her right away. If she was still sound asleep at seven thirty in the morning, she needed the sleep. He knew she had a never fail internal alarm. He looked up as a nurse walked into the room with her replacement.

"Good morning." She smiled at him.

"Good morning." He said softly.

"This is Alison. She's going to be taking over for me today." The woman told him before turning to the new nurse, Alison. "Mr. Beckett came in late last night. He was hit by a drunk driver in a parking lot and was rushed here. Left R4-R6, the clavicle, Left femur and pelvis are all fractured-."

"Wait." Castle said softly making the two women look at him as he gently moved out from under Beckett, laying her down on the bed as he climbed to his feet and walked over to them. "The doctor last night only said he had broken ribs, a broken femur, internal bleeding and slight edema." He looked confused. The Nurse looked at him, looking not happy that the doctor did not explain everything to them.

"Are you his son?" Alison asked.

"No, Kate's the only child." He told her.

"Then you're his son-in-law?"

"No." He answered again. "I'm Richard Castle; I shadow Kate and the NYPD for my novels." Alison smiled.

"She's the inspiration for Nikki Heat?" She asked making Castle glance at Beckett still asleep.

"Yeah." The nurse smiled before taking a small breath.

"I'm sorry; it's not every day we get celebrities here." She explained.

"Are you listed on the paperwork?" The night nurse asked before flipping through. "Legally we can't tell you anything unless the family or the patient give the go ahead."

"I understand." He nodded.

"Looks like Ms. Beckett did put you down as an emergency contact." She said looking at Castle. He stole a quick glance at Beckett before looking at the nurses.

"So what exactly is going on? Is he in more serious shape than the doctor said last night?" He worried. If Jim was worse off and that doctor, last night did not tell them the man would be in a world of hurt once both he and Beckett were done, let alone when the others found out.

"Mr. Beckett has a lot of trauma from the accident. The broken bones have all been reset but with his age, it will take longer to heal, especially the femur, which was nearly shattered. The internal bleeding the doctor mentioned last night was a bleed from his spleen that had ruptured. They were able to get it under control rather quickly but with the Coumadin he had been taking it is very possible it could start again." She began, making Castle nod. "The slight cerebral edema is actually a bit more than just slight so we will monitor his brain to make sure the pressure doesn't become too great."

Castle's phone buzzed in his pocket making him pull it out and look at the name. He pushed the button to send it to voice mail and looked at the two nurses. "I know you're not supposed to have cell phones on in hospitals but the rest of the team want to make sure they can keep in contact with us."

"It's fine. Just don't go walking around disturbing patients with loud ringtones and stuff like that." The night nurse smiled.

"Got it." He put the phone back in his pocket and glanced at Jim. "So is he going to be able to pull through all of this and be okay?"

"You're going to have to talk to the doctor to get a straight answer on that. As nurses we only see and get so much information. I don't want to tell you yes, he'll make a full recovery, and then he doesn't. I also don't want it to be the other way because legally I am not allowed to make those assumptions."

"Well from the information you have, have others in his situation pulled through and recovered?" He wondered.

Alison looked at the files in her hands. "My experience." She said. "The injuries he sustained should not be a problem. With his age, they will be slow but everything should heal. However, we're talking about this human body. Anything and everything could happen."

Castle nodded. "Thanks." He sighed as he looked at Beckett sleeping still. "I'm just going to go call our friend back, in case you're in here and she wakes up." The two nurses nodded as he walked out and down the hall to a little waiting room to call Esposito back.

"Esposito." He heard.

"You called?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, why didn't you answer? Would have thought you'd be up already."

"I was. I was talking to the nurse. Is Lanie with you?" He heard shuffling before he heard Lanie's voice.

"Castle, how's Kate?" She asked.

"She's sleeping still."

"Still?" Ryan's voice came from the background.

"You two spend all night up talking about mushy stuff?" Esposito chuckled.

"Actually she kicked me out last night, remember?" There was silence. "She called me and I went back up and we went to sleep." He told the boys before turning his attention back to Lanie. "Lanie, the nurses gave me a rundown of his injuries."

"Give me a second." She told him before he could hear her telling the two men to leave.

"But it's my phone." Esposito said.

"And you'll get it back when I finish. Now both of you out." Castle could not help but smile. He knew she only kicked them out to try to get Castle to give more details about how Beckett was doing. "Javier said you wanted to know what a few things were."

"Yes, but it turns out the doctor last night didn't tell Beckett everything."

"What?" She sounded upset. "What exactly did he leave out?"

"He told us there were a few broken ribs, broken femur, internal bleeding and slight cerebral edema?" he turned the last terms into a question.

"Okay, the cerebral edema is basically the swelling of the brain." She explained. "It's slight, normal for an accident, so it should go down soon. What did the nurses tell you?"

"They said that he had a broken clavicle and pelvis also. The broken ribs are…" He trailed off trying to remember. "4 through 6 on the left, the bleed was from the spleen. They said they fixed it fast, but he was on Coumadin so it could start again. They also said that the brain swelling was a little worse than the doctor told us."

"The injuries sound like they should all heal, without the paperwork and test results I can't give you real answers though." They both fell silent. "How is Kate? Really."

"She's tough." Was all he said. "I better get back to the room. She's still sleeping, but if she wakes up…" he trailed off

"And you're not there… I get it. Go. Just make sure to keep us up to date." She told him with a small smile.

"You got it. Thanks." The hung up and Castle went back to the room and peaked in to see Beckett still sleeping on the pull out chair. He decided to get some coffee and started down to the cafeteria. He noticed the looks he was getting from patients, visitors and workers all the same. They recognized him. He just continued on his way, getting the two coffees, the additives they each liked and he paid.

Walking into the room again, he saw Beckett waking up. She looked at him as she sat up and took the coffee he extended to her. "Mmm. Thanks." She gave him a small smile as he sat next to her.

"Rested?" He asked watching her give a small nod.

"Thank you." She said softly before he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

"That's what I'm here for. We're partners; we take care of each other."

"Still. Castle, this is my father. My family. You don't need to put yourself out because my father is hurt. You have your own family to take care of and worry about." She shook her head before looking at him as he pulled his arm away and shifted in his seat.

"I can do both. Besides if, it was the other way around. If it were my mother in that bed instead of your dad, you would be right here too." She could not help the small smile that tugged at her lips as she looked down at the coffee in her hands. "So what made you put me as an emergency contact?" Her head snapped up as he nonchalantly took a drink of his coffee.

"What?" She asked.

"The nurse came in to give report to the day shift nurse. They checked the file to see if they could tell me anything and told me you wrote me as an emergency contact."

"I…" She paused and looked back at her father. "There are only a few people I really trust. I've trusted you with my mother's case; I figured I should trust you to take care of things if I couldn't, with my father." Castle just watched her explain and saw the worry on her face. There was a silent moment before she looked up at him. "So did the nurses tell you anything?"

He looked at her a second, she needed to know but knowing the doctor left out important facts would send her on a rampage. "They told me a few things." He nodded. "Promise me you will just stay here and not do anything."

She furrowed her brows, becoming more worried. "What? What's going on?"

"Just trust me." She looked into his blue eyes before she nodded and he explained everything the doctor had left out the night before. When he was done, he could tell she was angry that the doctor left things out but she looked even more worried than before. He continued and told her how he talked to Lanie and what she had told him and she nodded. The look of worry pulling back ever so slightly after hearing her friend says that he should be okay. They sat talking softly about the night before and what the doctor had done for three hours. There was a knock on the door making them both look up at a tall man with dark, buzz cut hair and brown eyes, standing in the doorway.

He walked in, over to them as they stood and shook his hand. "I'm Dr. Scerpico. I'm going to be your father's main doctor."

"This is Rick and I'm Jim's daughter Kate. What happened to the man last night?" Beckett asked, wanting to question the man.

"The doctor you spoke with last night is only an E.R. doctor." Scerpico explained. "I will be taking over his care for the remainder of his stay here." He paused with a smirk. "I'll take good care of him, so there will be no need to get the mayor calling the head of the hospital." Beckett looked at Castle as he smiled.

"As long as you take care of Jim and Kate's satisfied, I have no need to use my resources." Castle grinned and was rewarded by one of Beckett's famous eye rolls.

"Well I'm just going to examine him for a moment." He said as several nurses walked in. "You may want to step outside." He offered.

"Let's go grab something to eat. By the time we get back up here they should be done." Castle offered. Beckett thought for a minute before nodding and following him. She watched as person after person they passed recognized him and yet he had not made a single move to act on the looks. She was surprised to see him pretending he was not getting the looks from fans. He usually loved having fans swarm all around him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

They got their food, paid and then sat at a table talking softly about Martha's fundraiser she was still working on. A woman with a bright smile walked over to them and Beckett looked down at her food with a little shake of her head. She knew Castle's fans from miles away, and knew he loved getting the attention. She stopped beside the table and Castle looked up at her.

"Mr. Castle I really love your books. I was wondering if I could get an autograph." Castle glanced at Beckett who was watching him. She saw the silent question; he would really turn away a fan if she felt uncomfortable with him signing things in a situation like this.

"It's fine Castle." She told him with a small smile. She really did not mind. It was not as if they were in the middle of an emergency with her father. He looked at the woman and smiled taking the pen and paper she was holding and quickly wrote a note and signed it. He looked back at Beckett who was staring at him.

"What?" He asked confused.

"You would have really told a gushing, die-hard fan no if it wasn't okay with me?" She asked and saw him smirk.

"Of course Detective. I don't want you to get jealous over all the fans who line up for me." She shook her head and went back to her food. "Of course there is the fact you would probably be in that line too." He said as a side note making her head snap up to look at him. "I mean all the books you have and standing in line earlier this-" He was cut off by a plastic spoon being thrown at him.

"I'm not one of your gussied up fan girls who ask you to sign their chests." She said sternly but she saw the mischief in his eyes as he smirked. She looked at their tray, found a fork, and threw it at him. He chuckled and picked it up from his lap where it had landed.

"You know you really shouldn't throw this stuff, it could poke an eye out. And you really wouldn't want your favorite writer injured, would you?"

"You're right, I wouldn't." She said making him smile. "That's why I'm throwing them at you and not Patterson." She added making his face fall as he fained hurt. "Oh get over yourself, Castle." She smiled.

"You know Detective; you can be so mean sometimes." He shook his head. "Maybe my next novel I really will write about Esposito. Maybe I can have Ochoa and-."

"Castle, you keep going I'm going to use the last utensil I have left and I'm not going to just throw it." He looked at her holding the plastic knife.

"For that, I won't give you a signed copy of my next book." He told her making her roll her eyes but he could see the smile tugging at her lips, wanting to break across her face.

"Good, then I'll have more room for Patterson's four new books." He looked at her with his puppy face again making her lose the battle against her smile and she began to laugh at him. He smiled, glad to finally see a real smile on her face and to hear her laugh, even if it was at his expense. Castle's phone buzzed making him look at the name and he sighed. "Who is it?" She asked.

"Mother." He pushed the button and put the phone to his ear. "Yes mother?" He answered, moving the phone away from his ear a bit, as she spoke. "He's okay. The doctors are taking good care of him…" he listened. "Beckett's fine we're actually having lunch…. Yes, I will call you as soon as anything is done. Good bye mother." He smirked and hung up.

"She sounded very upset." Beckett stated.

"Yeah, well she sees you and your dad as family. She can get pretty bad when a family member is hurt."

"She didn't sound all that bad."

"That's because she doesn't know the whole story. Just knows your dad's in the hospital. Believe me she knew anything more than that she would be down here raising hell worse than me last night."

Beckett laughed. "I find that hard to believe." Castle chuckled as they finished their breakfast and went back to the room. They walked in and Beckett's smile fell from her face as her eyes fell on her father still unconscious and battered in the hospital bed. Castle put his hand on her shoulder and she pulled away. She wanted him with her but she still needed to be the strong detective that never took anyone's crap. She walked over to a chair that was sitting beside the bed as the doctor walked in again. Castle walked over to the pull out chair and sat on the edge.

"Well it looks like everything is the same as last night." The doctor told her. "We'll keep an eye on everything and make sure nothing changes for the worse. I'm going to order an MRI and Cat scan for tomorrow to check on his brain and make sure the pressure doesn't get out of control. Everything seems to be good, so we'll just keep our eye on him for now."

"Thank you." Beckett said. The doctor nodded and left and she turned back to her father. "Did you talk to Alexis?" Slowly she looked over at him.

"I'll call her tonight."

"Call her? Castle you can't just keep calling your daughter. She needs her father." She seemed upset that he was just calling and not spending time nor taking care of his daughter. He stood up and walked over to her, pulling his phone out and dialing. Stopping in front of her as he put it on speaker and they could hear ringing.

"Is everything okay?" Alexis answered.

"Everything's okay, Pumpkin. I just have a question for you."

"Dad, if it's about how to get out of a situation, can it wait until after school?" She sighed.

"It's not about my books. I need you to be completely honest okay?"

"You sure everything is okay?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay, what's your question?" She asked him.

"Do you want me to come home?"

"Dad…" She trailed off confused.

"Just be honest." He told her.

"It's good to see you at home but honestly it's been quiet. Besides, you need to be with Beckett more than me and Gram. If it were you who was hurt, I would want to have the people I love with me to help get through. I mean I don't think I could make it through you being hurt badly without help, no matter how strong I am."

"I told you last night-." He started.

"I know, I know. I'm stuck with you until you're old gray and have to move in with me after someone steals your money." Beckett looked at Castle who smirked. "I have to go to class. Take care of Beckett. Love you."

"Love you too, pumpkin." He said before he hung up and looked at Beckett. "There you have it. No more trying to use that excuse."

"It wasn't an excuse." She replied.

"You heard it right from Alexis herself. I'm not going anywhere." She could only look at him as he gave her a triumphant smile.

"Don't think you won this. I am perfectly capable of doing all of this without you watching over me."

"I'm not watching over you." He explained before walking away to sit back on the pull out chair. Laying back, he let his eyes slide shut and dozed off.

After what only seemed like a few minutes, he jolted awake to the sounds of alarms. Looking over quickly he saw Beckett looking at her father horrified as Nurses and doctors rushed in. Castle jumped to his feet and was over to Beckett in seconds as the nurses were pushing them from the room. Beckett tried to push away from Castle, never taking her eyes from where the nurses and doctors were working on her father. Castle grabbed Beckett around the waist and picked her up, carrying her down the hall to the family waiting room.

"Castle!" She cried out as she started to try to get loose as he walked. Once in the room he set her down, leaning her against the far wall. She fought to get free and run back to her father but Castle held tight.

"Beckett." He tried to shush her as tears came to her eyes. "Kate." He said as she fought even more. "Kate, they need to do their work. They can't do their job if you're in there."

"Let me go Castle!" She yelled and she started swinging. He held her against the wall, letting her swing as frightened tears fell down her cheeks. "Let go, Rick!" She yelled.

"Kate. Kate, look at me." He said softly smoothing back her hair. "Kate." She looked up at him and he sifted to look directly into her eyes. "They need to work. They need to take care of him, and they can't if you're in there. You know that." She looked at him before she pulled herself closer as he wrapped his arms around her as she cried. For once, she had no control and did not care that she was carrying like a child in front of Castle. She did not care that she was not only letting him comfort her, but that she was allowing herself to be comforted. "It's going to be okay." He soothed, smoothing her hair as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"Excuse me." Castle looked to the door and saw the Doctor. Castle looked down at Beckett and pulled back letting her turn to the doctor. "Have a seat." Beckett froze, body shaking as thoughts of what happened to her father came to her mind. Castle put his hands on her shoulders and leaning closer to her to whisper.

"Sit down and listen." He told her softly. She took a step to the side and sat in the chair. The doctor took the seat next to her and Castle stood still watching. He knew she did not want him to be holding her up; she needed her space with a bit of support

"We've gotten him stable. We are running several tests to find out exactly what is going on. Right now, it is very possible that he is bleeding again." Castle looked at Beckett who was just sitting, frozen as the words sunk in.

"Do you know where?" Castle asked making the Doctor look at him.

"It could be from the spleen once again, it could be a new place all together. I'll let you know as soon as we know something." Beckett just nodded and the doctor left.

"Kate?" He asked as he moved to bend down in front of her. "I'm going to make a call. I'll be right outside the door." He told her. He stood and walked out the doorway and started to dial Esposito.

"Esposito." He heard groggily.

"It's Castle." He told him.

"Castle? Bro, you know what time it is?"

"It's almost 2 in the morning." Castle said looking at his watch. "Look can you get a hold of Lanie?"

"Why?" He asked more awake now. "What's wrong?"

"They're rushing him into a bunch of tests, that's all we really know." Castle explained.

"I'm on my way." Esposito said before hanging up and calling Ryan, and Lanie. Castle walked back into Beckett. He sat next to her and grabbed her hand.

"Kate…" He said. She shook her head.

"I can't lose him. He's all I have left, Rick." She turned her watery brown eyes up to look at him. He squeezed her hand.

"You're not going to lose him. You're going to have him with you for many more years."

"You can't know that."

"Kate, he loves you more than anything in the world. He is strong and he is smart. He's not going to leave you." He reached out with his free hand and wiped a tear from her cheek as their eyes locked. "You're not alone. Kate, you have a lot of people who are with you."

"He's my only family. I don't have my mom, I don't have siblings or anyone else. If he…" She trailed off with fresh tears in her eyes as she looked away. "Rick…"

"Everything will be fine, just wait and see." He pulled her closer to him and they leaned back into the seat together to wait for news. After half an hour, Beckett was sound asleep against him. An hour later he heard someone knocks on the doorjamb making him look up and see their friends. "Hey." He said softly.

"Is she asleep?" Lanie asked concerned as the boys looked at the two surprised at how Beckett was a sleep leaning against Castle.

"Yeah she fell asleep about an hour ago." Castle shifted and gently slid out from under Beckett's head, laying her on the chair gently before walking closer to their friends. "We're still waiting for results, but all they said was it's a possibility that it's bleeding again."

"How is she asleep?" Ryan asked. "You have to drug her or something?"

"She was worn out." Was all he told them, making them looking at each other. They turned as the doctor walked into the room.

"Family?" He asked them.

"You could say that." Esposito said as Lanie walked over to wake Beckett.

"Kate." She said as she reached out to wake her. "Sweetie, wake up."

Beckett began to stir. "Castle?" She asked making him turn and look at her as she opened her eyes. "Lanie. What? What are you doing here?"

"Writer boy called and told us what happened." Lanie explained as Beckett sat up. "Come on the doctor's here." Beckett was on her feet and at Castle's side looking at the doctor.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked.

"We ran as many tests as we could. We found a large subdural hematoma and are taking him into surgery right now." Beckett looked at Lanie who took a small breath.

"How large is it?" Lanie asked.

"It is very large and it is growing fast because of the Coumadin he has been taking." The doctor answered.

"What's that mean exactly?" Ryan asked making the Doctor turn to look at him.

"It's bleeding on the surface of the brain." Lanie answered. The doctor looked at her. "I'm a coroner for the city." She glanced at Beckett.

"What exactly is going to happen now?" Beckett asked

"We're going to relieve the pressure and stop the bleeding if we are able to. And then we will continue to monitor his condition as we were before." The doctor explained.

"Is there a chance this could happen again?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Beckett ran her hand through her hair as the fear returned to her face. Castle had seen it before but the others were shocked to see it. They had never seen their boss, their friend, afraid of anything before. "We will keep a closer eye on his condition. I will be ordering more frequent testing to make sure we catch it at the first sign of anything going on."

Beckett nodded and turned away making Lanie follow her off to the side while the three men stood together and thanked the Doctor for telling them what was going on. Esposito and Ryan looked at Beckett talking to Lanie softly in the corner. They turned their eyes on Castle who walked to the side to sit in a chair making them follow.

"How has Beckett been holding up?" Ryan asked looking over at the two women.

"She's been holding it together." Was all Castle said not wanting to give too much away about how Beckett was losing her control. He knew she was determined to remain the strong detective, the strong wiled woman they all knew. The two men continued to look at him, waiting for more. "She's doing well under the circumstances." He added making them sit back and wait for news.

Castle felt a hand on his arm making his eyes open quickly and he sat forward quickly. Lanie stood looking down at him. "It's only me. Kate's exhausted but she refuses to sleep, let alone get anything to eat." Castle looked over at Beckett sitting in the seat they had been in earlier with her head drooping. He stood up, glancing at the two men who were sound asleep before he walked over to sit beside Beckett.

"No, Castle." Was all she said as she felt the cushion dip.

"I didn't say anything." He said softly as he sat back in the seat. She looked up at him and he could see every emotion flash across her face. "I just figured Lanie might want to be the one Esposito drools on for a while." He smirked making her glance at where Lanie sat leaning her head on Esposito's shoulder.

"You shouldn't have called them. There's no reason to have them sitting her all night to be exhausted for work in the morning. You should have just let it be. And you should have gone home." She told him making him sigh.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe they should have stayed home and not come up. Maybe I should have gone home." He said making her head snap to look at him. "You want us all to leave, you want to be alone, just say the word." She stared at him. Was he really going to leave and make the others leave too? After she remained silent, he turned his head to look at her and he put his arms across the back of the seat. "Then let us help you for once." He told her before he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him, making her lay her head on his upper chest. "Rest." He was surprised when she did not pull back and fight more. He felt her move slow to wrap her arm around his middle and readjust her head.

"Thank you, Castle." She whispered.

"Always." He whispered back. He leaned his cheek against the top of her head and closed his eyes. Lanie looked over seeing the two laying together and she smiled. She could see the difference between the two of them. It had been happening for a while now and she hoped it would lead where everyone in the precinct had pools on.

Castle opened his eyes to see the doctor walk in. He shifted slightly. "Kate." He said softly. At the sound of her name, her eyes opened and she sat up quickly. Seeing the doctor, she stood and Castle followed suit.

"Your father is out of surgery and is getting settled back into his room. Everything went well. From all of the tests we've run before and after the surgery it seems everything is evening out and looking better than it did before."

"Can we see him?"

"Yes, of course." Beckett looked at Castle.

"Go." Castle said before Beckett left with the doctor and Castle sat back down dozing off. He knew she or a nurse would wake him if he was needed.

Castle was woken up by Lanie. "We have to go to work. Where's Beckett?"

"Her dad came out of surgery and she went to sit with him." He told them.

"Call us if anything else happens. And make sure she gets something to eat." Castle nodded and stood up. As the three friends went one way to head home to change and then to work, he went the other way, towards Jim's room.

He stopped by the door looking in at Beckett lying on the bed next to her father sound asleep. He smiled before walking over to her. Looking down at her face, pushing hair out of her face gently. He took another minute to look at her before he walked over to sit in a chair to the side to just watch her sleep.

Castle could not help but think about what Beckett must be thinking and going through. He could not think of Alexis going through this. His heart clenched in his chest. He loved this woman lying in front of him cuddled up to her unconscious father. He let out a soft sigh watching her sleep. He knew she had a point about Alexis needing to see him and not just get phone calls from him, but he also knew that there was no way Alexis nor Martha would let him leave her, even if he did do what she said.

After five more hours Beckett stats to stir making Castle sit up a bit in his seat, she rolled a bit and rubbed her eyes. "Castle, were you watching me sleep?"

"Um... No." She rolled her eyes and sat up on the side of the bed and look at him.

"Did everyone go to work?" She asked making him nod. The two sat silently, Beckett turning to look at her father and the monitors while Castle sat back in his seat watching her. "This is so unreal." She said softly before looking at Castle. "All of this just seems like it's one big nightmare that I can't wake up from."

"I don't think it's a nightmare." Castle said after a minute making her furrow her brow. "If it was a nightmare you would be here alone. Esposito, Lanie, Ryan they would not have come up here last night and want updates ever five minutes. Alexis and Mother would not be asking about you every time I call to check in. And most importantly, if it was a nightmare I wouldn't be here." He gave her a grin making her roll her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure you never leaving is considered a nightmare." She smiled at his pout. She stood up, walked over to the seat beside him, and sat in it. She looked down at her hands for a moment. "Thanks." She said softly making him look over at him. "For... Everything. I would have just been in the way last night and…" She trailed off glancing at him. Castle nodded and looked back at Jim.

"Always." She heard him say softly making her smile. He looked at her making her turn her head, locking eyes. "No matter what goes on, I'll always be there. Whenever or for whatever you need." The two continued to look at each other until a nurse walked in to check on Jim.

"You two need anything?" She asked.

"We're fine. Thanks." Beckett responded. The nurse nodded and left as Castle dug his phone from his pocket. "What are you doing?" She wondered.

"Getting us some dinner, you didn't eat at all last night." He smirked as he dialed and pulled the phone to his ear before ordering Chinese.

"Castle, you can't have it delivered let alone to the hospital." She interrupted him. He only gave her a smirk and continued the order, getting all of her favorites.

"Could you bring that to Bellevue?" He paused listening. "No, no, I'm not hurt. Beckett's dad is here and we're sitting with him." She watched as he explained, she wondered how the man on the other end of the line knew who she was since Castle was the one who always picked up the food. "Thanks." He hung up with a triumphant smile.

"You can't use your name forever."

"As long as I'm a bestselling author I can." He grinned at her making her shake her head but couldn't stop the smile that began to grow across her face as they sat back talking softly waiting for their food.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Beckett sat in her seat three days later waiting for Castle to come back. It had become a regular thing for them to get Chinese delivered. So much so, that Castle started taking orders for the nurses. Beckett smirked. Castle was always so thoughtful. Her attention was brought back from her thoughts when she heard a soft grunt. Looking over she saw her father's eyes open and he started looking around. She jumped from her seat and ran over to the side of the bed.

"Dad?" She asked and saw his eyes focused on her.

"Katie?" He asked with a raspy voice. Beckett smiled brightly and felt tears come to her eyes, as she looked at her father, finally awake. "What happened?" He asked.

"You don't remember?" She wondered what he knew about the accident. He shook his head, wincing at the pain from his stiff muscles. "I'll let the nurse know you're awake." She pulled back and walked to the door. Hanging out to talk to the nurse across the way. "He's awake." She said as Castle was walking down the hall. She looked at him and gave a smile before going back into the room with the nurse.

Castle walked in a few minutes later to see the nurse on one side of the bed checking Jim over to make sure he was alright and Beckett on the other holding his hand. He set the two bags of food on one of the chairs and standing back, not wanting to intrude. He was extremely happy that Jim was all right, that Beckett was not going to have to be in pain anymore, worrying about him and that she was smiling again.

"I'll let the doctor know he's awake." The nurse told Beckett. "He will probably come in to see him in the morning. Until then we'll continue to keep watch." Beckett nodded and the nurse looked back at Jim. "Are you in pain?"

"A bit." He said roughly.

"I'll go get some pain medication for you. Take a few sips of water and your throat should clear up. I'll be right back." She told them leaving, giving Castle a small smile on the way out.

"Is that Rick by the door?" He asked making Beckett turn, glancing at Castle with a brief smile before looking back at her father.

"Yeah, he's been here since you came in. He's like a parasite I can't get rid of." She chuckled making Jim smile.

"I'll take that as a complement." Castle said as he took several steps closer to stand close behind her.

"You would." She rolled her eyes making him smirk.

"So how long have you been sitting here?" Jim asked them both.

"Since the hospital called her almost six days ago." Castle answered and glanced at Beckett who was looking down at her and her father's joined hands. "I'm going to go divvy out the food." He told Beckett and gave Jim a nod before he turned to grab the bags, missing the appreciative look she gave him. Once he was gone, Jim looked back at his daughter.

"Katie, why are you crying?" He asked as he gave a gentle tug on her hand to make her sit on the side of the bed.

"I… I was afraid I would never get to see you again. You were pretty hurt when they brought you in and then four days ago you almost died and they had to do surgery on your brain…" A few tears fell down her cheeks. "I was afraid you would have left me alone." She looked down again. Jim knew his daughter only let the gates open when it was a life or death situation, or when a particular case brought her back to her mother's death.

"You're not alone. We talked about that before. You have all your friends and you tell me all the time that Rick won't leave you alone. How he talks you into dinners with his daughter and mother, how he follows you everywhere. You're not alone, you never will be. Besides, you're stuck with me for a very long time to come." Beckett smiled

"Castle said the same thing to his daughter." She said remembering the conversation that put an end to her telling him to go home. Jim smirked.

"You two seemed to be closer than the last time I saw you." He gave a small smile and Beckett shook her head but the tug at her lips told him different. "What happened between you two?" He asked

"We've been through a lot in the last three months." She said softly. "And he's been really good these last few days. He drove up here and hasn't left. When we got here they wouldn't let me see you so he called the mayor." She laughed a bit making Jim smile. "They almost wouldn't let him come with me to see you and get all the paperwork done. I made him promise not to call the mayor again."

"It's good to know some people high up." Jim told her making her nod. "What else happened?" He usually did not like to pry but he had noticed over the last few years that the more she spoke about the man who wiggled himself into her life the more she smiled and laughed. He enjoyed watching her smile at the memories she had with the man. Besides, he liked Castle.

"When they had to do surgery the other night…" She paused a minute as she tried to pull back the pain and worry she had felt that night. "All the alarms went off and all the nurses and doctors ran in. I refused to move or do anything. I was a wreck but Castle came out of nowhere and got me out."

"He got you to leave?" Jim asked. He knew the memories of what happened to him hurt her but they were slowly fading to the back as she remembered what Castle had done.

"Well he carried me down to the waiting room down the hall." She shook her head. "I was a mess. He stayed with me and only went outside the door to call the others." She gave a small smile. "They all came up. We all fell asleep in the chairs and then they had to go to work but… Castle's been taking care of everything." She smiled as she looked at her lap.

"He really cares about you, he loves you." He said making her glance at him and nod.

"I know." She whispered. Jim looked at her as she took a deep breath before making sure Castle was not near the door. "When I was shot last year…. When he was over me in the cemetery. He told me. He told me he loved me."

"He did?" Jim asked. He would have thought that if either of them had admitted their feelings to the other they would be in a relationship.

She nodded her head and looked at her lap as tears came to her eyes. "I lied." Jim looked confused. "I told him I didn't remember, but I remember everything. I just…. I'm wasn't ready, I'm not ready. I can't just move on from everything." Jim squeezed her hand. "He found out about my lie and it really hurt him. It took us four and a half months and crazy fan killing people to get us to talk again. I don't want to hurt him any more than I already have."

"Katie." He said making her meet his eyes. Jim gave her a smile. "He'll understand. You just have to explain it to him, tell him why you're so afraid to do anything. I think maybe it's time you start showing yourself a little more. Show him that you're trying at least. That's all that matters. Believe me, everything will work out." He gave her hand another squeeze. Father and Daughter sat with smiles on their faces holding hands for another five minutes with Beckett telling Jim about how Lanie and Esposito are back together again when a knock to the doorframe interrupted them.

"I don't mean to interrupt." Alexis said with Martha standing behind her. "Is Dad here?"

"He went to give the nurses their food." Beckett explained as Alexis and Martha walked into the room more. "Dad, I think you met them before but this is Castle's mother, Martha and his daughter, Alexis."

"It's nice to actually meet you." He smiled.

"It's good to see you're awake." Alexis responded. Martha nodded before saying she was going to go find her son. "We've all been really worried about you." Alexis continued and walked over to stand beside Beckett.

"So I've heard." He nodded.

"How are you feeling?" Beckett asked making Alexis look at her.

Alexis paused for a moment before answering, "I'm fine. Besides being here isn't about me." She said making Beckett shake her head.

"Things are better." Beckett told her. "You don't need to be so proper." Alexis looked at her before glancing at Jim then back to Beckett.

"Dad told you. Didn't he?" Beckett nodded making Alexis sigh. "Well I don't think the nightmares are going to go away any time soon, but I'm okay. Gram and Dad help a lot."

"Nightmares?" Jim asked making both women look at him.

"Last month, Alexis was kidnapped." Was all Beckett said.

"I have nightmares almost every night." Alexis continued. "I wake up screaming so loud that I wake up even the neighbors." She looked at Beckett quickly. "I'm doing better. I really am. I figured out that when I sleep in with my Dad I'm much better."

"I thought Rick was staying here the last few nights?" Jim asked looking at Beckett who nodded sadly.

"Gram has been taking care of things. Besides I've been sleeping in his bed." She gave a small smile.

"Sounds like he has the special touch to chase away nightmares and fears." Jim said glancing at his daughter who gave a small smile. Alexis rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Don't tell him that. He already thinks he's a real superhero." Beckett could not help but laugh and Jim smiled.

"Talking about me?" Castle asked as he walked in making them look at him followed by his mother and the nurse.

"Okay, I had to talk to the house doctor but I got you some morphine. This will help with the pain, but it might make you a bit sleepy." The nurse explained.

"We'll head to the waiting room to eat." Beckett said with a small smile. Jim nodded and watched as Beckett kissed his forehead and lead the group out with Castle being the last one out.

"Rick." Jim said making Castle pause at the door and look at him. "Thanks for taking care of my little girl while all this happened."

"Always." Castle gave him a sincere smile.

"You better make sure of that." He told the younger man who nodded before he continued after the women with the two bags of food to let Jim get some sleep.

Once they were all sitting around the small table with their food, they started talking. "So what were you two saying about me?" Castle asked Beckett and Alexis who looked at each other.

"Just about how you _think_ you're a superhero." Alexis said stressing the word 'think'. Beckett gave a smile at how Alexis spoke to her father.

"Well I am one." He said with a shrug.

"In your dreams, Castle." Beckett rolled her eyes.

"Well, Detective, in my dreams-"

He was cut off by his mother and Alexis scolding him. "Dad!" "Richard" They called at the same time making him look at them.

"Really Richard. Where are your manors?" Martha asked.

"I was just going to say that I'm the best superhero with the most beautiful sidekick ever, in my dreams." He explained.

"And who would be you're sidekick, Dad?" Alexis asked with a knowing look.

"Yeah, Castle." Beckett added with a raised eyebrow and a look telling him she was waiting for his answer.

"Mother's right. Manors." He said with a smile before starting to eat.

"So when did your father wake up?" Martha asked.

"A few minutes before you two showed up." Beckett answered.

"He seems to be doing really well for what happened." Beckett nodded. "Do the doctors say he'll recover quickly?"

"They said it will be slow but as of earlier this morning everything was healing wonderfully."

"They are going to keep running the tests and checking everything, especially his brain until he is going home and they will run tests every so often for about six months after he goes home." Castle added. Beckett was glad to have had him with her every time the doctor would talk. She would forget a lot of the information, as she would zone out thinking of all worst-case scenarios. Luckily, Castle was there to stay focused and get all the information she needed to know.

"Well now that he's awake they should be sending him home soon right?" Alexis asked.

"Well I'm sure they will want his injuries healed first." Martha told her granddaughter. "My friend, Judy, she fell and broke her hip during rehearsals one time and they wouldn't let her leave the hospital until she was almost healed. They are very careful about broken bones and injured in people our age." She explained.

"And exactly what is the age group you're talking about?" Castle asked only to have her swat at him from across the table making Beckett and Alexis smile.

The rest of dinner went along with the family banter that was never ending, usually making Castle the butt end of all the comments. They threw away their containers and sat back talking. "You know I was ahead in the jokes until you came along." Castle told Beckett, which only made her laugh. He could not help the smile that was across his face. He had begun to think that he would never hear her laugh, or see her smile just as brightly as she was just now.

"We better get back to the loft." Alexis said looking at Martha. "I have homework and a study group."

"With who?" Castle asked as the two stood up.

"James." Alexis said, pulling on her jacket. She hugged Beckett, kissed his cheek and said bye as she started for the door. Castle looked at Martha who sighed and shrugged.

"Don't worry so much. She's growing up but she knows her lines." Martha told him. "Besides, I have a date with a nice glass of wine tonight."

"Which means you're dipping into my cabinet." Castle said, standing up and walking her towards the door.

"Stop worrying about us." Martha told him. "You take care of Beckett, Alexis and I are more than capable of taking care of things when you're not around. It's not like we must have a man around all the time. All they do is whine and complain anyway." Castle looked at her and she smiled. "We'll talk to you later." Castle nodded and he gave her a kiss on the cheek before they left and he went back to sit in his seat heavily.

"Don't worry." Beckett said making him look at her. "She'll always need her dad around to scare away the monsters in the closet." She smiled as he smirked at her. The two looked at each other for a moment longer before Beckett heard her father's voice telling her to show herself a bit more. She sighed, readjusting in her seat to curl her legs up beside her and lean over, laying her head on Castle's shoulder. Castle looked at her, frozen a minute not sure what was going. "Now that we know my dad's okay, I think we both need some sleep." She felt him shift before she lifted her head.

Castle shifted before she lifted her head to look at him. He was smiling before he stood up grabbing her hand and pulling her to little couch like seat to the side. Once there he sat and she cuddled to his side once again as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he dozed off. Beckett smiled, vowing to let herself relax a little more and slowly show him how much she really did care about him, even if she was not ready to completely admit it allowed yet. She smiled, wrapping her arm across his middle as she let sleep over take her, listening to his steady heartbeat.


End file.
